1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to a cover for an opening, and more particularly, a hatch cover for closing a hatch in the deck of a boat or ship.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
In many applications, hatch covers should provide the following features:
(a) a rugged construction to withstand the weight of heavy items and individuals; PA0 (b) thermal insulation which reduces moisture condensation on one side of the cover; PA0 (c) a gasket-type seal to reduce the flow of water and air through the opening which the hatch cover closes; PA0 (d) galvonic isolation from mounting hardware; PA0 (e) electric isolation to reduce the risk of arcing from electrical short circuits; and PA0 (f) sound dampening to minimize sound transfer through the opening which the hatch cover closes and to reduce the noise generated by items dropped on the cover or by the closing of the cover.
One application which requires these features is a hatch cover for the deck of a water craft.
The prior art includes a wide variety of covers for closing hatches. However, due to various inherent design characteristics, these prior covers do not provide the features outlined above. They do not provide an effective closure, especially for applications such as the water craft application identified above.
The hatch cover of the present invention provides the above features. It has a simple construction which greatly minimizes the expense of manufacture and assembly while providing the outlined advantages. It comprises a small number of components which provide an effective closure and an attractive addition to the structural member whose opening it closes.